Wire fence adjusting device



Oct. 31, 1950 M. H. DOCKEN 2,527,877

WIRE FENCE ADJUSTING DEVI'CE Filed July so, 1947 INVENTOR MELFORD H. DOGKEN ATTOR N E YS Patented Oct. 31, 195 0 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,527,877 I WIRE FENCE ADJUSTING DEVICE Melford H. Docken, Northfield, Minn.

Application July 30,1947, Serial No. 764,669

6 Claims. 1

My invention relates to improvements in wire fence adjusting devices and has for an object thereof to provide a simple, durable and relatively inexpensive device readily adapted to be located in the line of a fence and conveniently operated to tighten or slacken, individually, the various fence wires between fence posts to which the ends of such wires are fastened.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device, as above, including a post, and a drum supported thereby for rotative adjustment thereon and provided with wire-engaging means for catching a wire and causing it to wrap helically on said drum as it is turned in one direction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drum, as above, of tubular formation formed from sheet material with a slit remaining bethe other, and for each tween unjoined edges of the material and, in

conjunction therewith, to provide wire-engaging means in the form of an element a portion of which is employed to tie together the adjacent marginal portions of the drum at opposite sides of said slit.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts r is a detail sectional view taken as on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Reference being had to the drawing, it will be seen that the illustrated embodiment of my invention includes a post I0. This post is preferably, though not necessarily, of tubular formation and is adapted to be planted in the ground in the line of a wire fence intermediately of the conventional end fence posts to which the extremities of the horizontal wire or wires of the fence are anchored. The lower end of the post In) is preferably fitted with an anchoring memher (not shown) of usual construction to keep said post in the ground and to prevent it from turning about its own axis.

For each of the horizontal wires of the fence to which my improved adjusting device is applied, such device will include a drum for winding in or paying out portions of the wire from the reaches thereof at opposite sides of the device, whereby such reaches of wire may be tightened or slackened as may be desired. In the drawing, two fence wires I I are shown, one above 2. 7 V of said wires II, the mustrated device includes a drum I2.

Each of the drums I2 is of tubular formation, circular in transverse cross-section, having an axial bore of a diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of the post It]: to enable the drum I2 to encircle the post I0 and tobe rotated thereon and shifted therealong. Formed about the upper marginal portion of such drum I! are a number of spaced holes I3 adapted, selectively, to receive the usual engaging lug I4 of a conventional spanner wrench such as that indicated at I5. The lower marginal portion of such drum I2 is serrated to form ratchet teeth It having upright shoulders I7. For each such drum ;I2, a bottom thrust member is provided, the same comprising a pintle IB' extending horizontally through, the post I'll diametrically thereof and. lodged therein with the terminal portions of such pintle projecting from opposite sides of the post. The lower edge of the drum I2 rests upon said projecting terminal portions of the pintle I8, and the ratchet teeth I6 of the drum are so formed that each shoulder ll of diametrically opposed ratchet teeth I6 on the drum engages one of said terminal portions of said pintle I8. Thus, while the drum I2 is free to be turned by the wrench I5 in one direction, ratcheting over the pintle I8, it is releasably held by said ratchet teeth I6 and pintle I8 against turning in the opposite direction.

Each drum I2 is supplied with a wire-engaging element A embodying a guide and a wirecatching member. The illustrated wire-engaging element A comprises a length of material such as a short piece of heavy wire, the same including a body or guide portion I9 and a recurved or crooked terminal portion 20 forming a wire-catching hook. The body or guide portion I9 of the wire-engaging element A is welded or otherwise suitably fastened to the drum I2 near its upper end, partially encompassing said drum along a line helically thereof, with the hook 28 lowermost and turned back in opposition to the shoulders I! of the ratchet teeth I6. Each drum I2 is disposed in elevation on the post 'I II in correspondence with the elevation of the particular wire II tobe wound thereon and each Wire is laid over the hook 20 of the wireengaging element A of its respective drum I2, as shown in the lower portion of Fig. l, the drum I2, of course, first having been angularly adjusted on the post II) to bring said hook 28* on the side of the post occupied by the wire. With the wire I I caught in the hook 2 0, the drum I2 is turned by the wrench 15 in a direction causing said drum to ratchet upon the pintle I8. Thus, turned, the hook 20 catches the wire, doubling it and wrapping it about the drum. Such rotative adjustment of the drum I2 is continued until the reaches of the wire H at either side of the post are tightened as desired. After approximately the first one-half turn of the drum l'2 the upper reach of the-doubled wire ll wraps beneath the elevated butt of the guide portion IQ of the wire-engaging element A, and continuing to wrap beneath said guide portion I9, said reach of wire is guided in the wrapping thereof helically downward so that upon completing its initial convolution it will pass beneath the hook 211 and not overwrap it. The upper reach of the doubled wire I! being initially guided helically about the drum l2 by the wire-engaging element A, it will so continue to wrap about said drum, and in turn, will correspondingly guide the lower reach of said wire. In loosening the wire H, the wrench I5 is employed to control the counter rotation of'the drum l2, after it has been shifted upwardly out of ratcheting engagement with the pintle is, thereby to regulate the slack to be imparted to the wire preparatory to the re-engagement of the said ratchet teeth [6 with said pintle l8.

Preferably, adjacent drums IE will have their respective ratchet teeth it oppositely arranged as shown in Fig. 1 and, correspondingly, the wire-engaging elements A will be likewise oppositely arranged. This provision, in eifect, neutralizes the torque imparted to the post ID through the tightened wires H, thereby relieving the anchoring means for the post from strains which otherwise would occur.

To render the instant device relatively inexpen- 'sive in construction, I have found that the drums 52 may be struck from sheet metal and cylindrically formed in tubular fashion leaving a slit 2! between ununited edges of the adjacent marginal portions of the split structure. These marginal portions of the split tubular structure are tied together by the guide portion 19 of the wireengaging element A, such guide portion [9 being disposed cross-wise of the slit 2! and welded, brazed or otherwise suitably secured to said marginal portions of the drum i2 at either side of said slit 21. Thus secured tn the drum 12, said guide portion 19 of said wire-engaging element A preserves the cylindrical form of the drum holding it against being spread open under stresses tending so to do in the use of the device, as in the application of the wrench [5 to the openings 13 in the drum 4 2, and as attends the coaction of the ratchet teeth N5 of the drum with a pintle I8.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjusting device for a fence including a horizontally disposed length of wire anchored at its ends, said device comprisin a post adapted to be planted adjacent the line of the fence intermediately of said wire, a tubular drum encircling said post for rotation thereon and formed from sheet material with a slit remaining between unjoined edges of the material longitudinally of the drum, said drum having spaced openings in the upper marginal portion thereof to receive the lug of a spanner wrench for turning the drum in one direction, said drum having ratchet teeth in its lower marginal portion, means on the post cooperating with said teeth for holding the drum against rotation reversely in respect to said first direction, an elongated wire-engaging element having a body portion partially encircling the outer face of the drum helically thereof and extending across said slit, said body portion of said element being secured to adjacent portions of said drum at opposite sides of said slit and constituting a tie between the same, said wire-engaging element having a terminal portion at its lower end recurved relative to the body portion to form a hook adapted to catch the fence wire at the site of said post and cause it to be wound in upon said drum as the drum is rotated by said Wrench, said body portion of said wire-engaging element fur- .ther constituting a guide cooperating with the Wire as it winds upon the drum to feed said wire downwardly along the drum to a level beneath said hook.

2. An adjusting device for a fence including a horizontally disposed length of wire anchored at its ends, said device comprising a post adapted to be planted adjacent the line of the fence intermediately of said wire, a tubular drum encircling said post for rotation thereon and formed from sheet material with a slit remaining between unjoined edges of the material longitudinally of the drum, means for turning the drum in one direction, means for releasably holding the drum against rotation in the reverse direction, an elongated wire-engaging element having a body portion partially encircling the outer face of the drum helically thereof and extending across said slit, said body portion of said element being secured to adjacent portions of said drum at opposite sides of said slit and constituting a tie be tween the same, said wire-engaging element having a terminal portion at its lower end recurved relative to the body portion to form a hook adapted to catch the fence wire at the site of said post and cause it to be wound in upon said drum as the drum is rotated by said drum-turning means, said body portion of said element further constituting a guide cooperating with the Wire as it winds upon the drum to feed said Wire downwardly along the drum to a level beneath said hook.

3, An adjusting device for a fence including a horizontally disposed length of wire anchored at its ends, said device comprising a post adapted to be planted adjacent the line of the fence intermediately of said wire, a longitudinally slit sleevelike drum revolubly supported by said post, means for turning'the drum in one direction, means releasably holding the drum against rotation in the reverse direction, a wire-engaging element secured to the drum and tying together the opposed marginal portions thereof along said slit, said element being adapted to catch the fence wire and cause it to be wrapped about said drum upon the rotation thereof by said drum-turning means, whereby the reaches of said wire at either side of theadjusting device are drawn taut, said element being further adapted initially to guide the wrapping of the wire helically of the drum thereby to prevent the over-wrapping of said element by said wire and the over-wrapping of the Wire by itself.

4. An adjusting device for a fence including a horizontally disposed length of wire anchored at its ends, said device comprising a post adapted to be plantedvadjacent the line of the fence intermediately of said Wire, a drum revolubly supported on said post, means for turning the drum in one direction, means for releasably holding the drum against rotation in the reverse direction, an elongated wire-engaging element on the drum having a body portion partially encircling said drum helically thereof, said elementhaving a terminal portion recurved relative to said body portion to form a hook adapted to catch the fence wire and cause the same to be wrapped upon said drum as it is rotated by said drum-turning means, said body portion of said element serving initially to guide the Wrapping of the wire on the drum helically thereof, thereby to prevent the over-wrapping of said hook by said wire and the over-wrapping of the Wire by itself.

5. An adjusting device for a fence including a horizontally disposed length of wire anchored at its ends, said device comprising a post adapted to be planted adjacent the line of the fence intermediately of said wire, a drum revolubly supported on said post, means for turning the drum in one direction, means for releasably holding the drum against rotation in the reverse direction, a guide on the drum partially encircling the same helically thereof, and a Wire-catching member carried by said drum adjacent one end of said guide, said wire-catching member being adapted to catch said wire and cause it to be Wrapped upon said drum when the drum is turned by said drumturning means, said guide cooperating with the wrapping wire to feed it helically along the drum out of the path of said wire-catching member.

6. An adjusting device for a fence including a horizontally disposed length of Wire anchored at its ends, said device comprising a post adapted to be planted adjacent the line of the fence intermediately of said wire, a sleeve-like drum encircling said post for rotation thereon, means for turning the drum in one direction, means releasably holding the drum against rotation in the reverse direction, said drum consisting of a piece of sheet metal cylindrically formed and having adjacent marginal portions with contiguous ununited edges defining a longitudinal slit in the drum, a wire-engaging element having a body portion and a terminal portion, said body portion extending about the drum cross-wise of said slit and overlying said marginal portions of the drum at either side of said-slit, said body portion of said element being secured to said marginal portions of the drum rigidly tying the same together, the terminal portion of said member being adapted to catch the fence wire and cause it to be Wrapped about said drum upon the rotation thereof by said drum-turning means, whereby the reaches of said wire at either side of the adjusting device are drawn taut.

MELFORD H. DOCKEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,998,185 Broderick Apr. 16, 1935 2,426,284 Peterson Aug. 26,1947 

